Hosea 2:7

And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
follow	וְרִדְּפָ֤ה ve.ri.de.Fah	H7291	to run after (usually with hostile intent · conjunction + verb, piel sequential perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
lovers	מְאַהֲבֶ֙יהָ֙ me.'a.ha.Vei.ha	H157	to have affection for (sexually or otherwise) · verb, piel active participle, masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
overtake	תַשִּׂ֣יג ta.Sig	H5381	to reach (literally or figuratively) · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
seek	וּבִקְשָׁ֖תַם u.vik.Sha.tam	H1245	to search out (by any method · conjunction + verb, piel sequential perfect, 3rd person feminine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
find	תִמְצָ֑א tim.Tza'	H4672	properly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
say	וְאָמְרָ֗ה ve.'a.me.Rah	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
go	יָלַךְ yâlak	H3212	to walk (literally or figuratively)
return	וְאָשׁ֙וּבָה֙ ve.'a.Shu.vah	H7725	to turn back (hence · conjunction + verb, qal infinitive construct, 1st person common singular
first	הָֽרִאשׁ֔וֹן ha.ri.Shon	H7223	first · definite article + ordinal number, masculine singular absolute
husband	אִישִׁ֣י 'i.Shi	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
better	טוֹב ṭôwb	H2896	good (as an adjective) in the widest sense
now	מֵעָֽתָּה me.'A.tah	H6258	at this time · preposition + adverb

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Jeremiah 2:2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, w…
Jeremiah 14:22 Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O LORD our God? ther…
Hosea 5:13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you…
Luke 15:17-20 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
Deuteronomy 8:17-18 And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.
Ezekiel 23:4 And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their…
Ezekiel 23:22 Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will…
Hosea 13:6 According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hosea 2:6-13

God here goes on to threaten what he would do with this treacherous idolatrous people; and he warns that he may not wound, he threatens that he may not strike. If he turn not, he will whet his sword (Psa 7:12); but, if he turn, he will sheathe it. They did not turn, and therefore all this came upon them: and its being threatened before shows that it was the execution of a divine sentence upon them for their wickedness; and it is written for admonition to us. I. They shall be perplexed and embarrassed in all their counsels, and disappointed in all their expectations. This is threatened Hos 2:6, Hos 2:7. But to the threatening is annexed a promise that this shall be a means to convince them of…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Hosea 2:6

thorns . . . wall-- (Job 19:8; Lam 3:7, Lam 3:9). The hindrances which the captivity interposed between Israel and her idols. As she attributes all her temporal blessings to idols, I will reduce her to straits in which, when she in vain has sought help from false gods, she will at last seek Me as her only God and Husband, as at the first (Isa 54:5; Jer 3:14; Eze 16:8). then--before Israel's apostasy, under Jeroboam. The way of duty is hedged about with thorns; it is the way of sin that is hedged up with thorns. Crosses in an evil course are God's hedges to turn us from it. Restraining grace and restraining providences (even sicknesses and trials) are great blessings when they stop us in a…

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John Gill on Hosea 2:7

And she shall follow after her lovers,.... Before mentioned; that is, in her affections and desires, with great eagerness and earnestness, as men pursue what they are bent upon; otherwise, being hedged in and walled up, she could not go after them in a proper sense: but she shall not overtake them; they fleeing from her, and she pent up: she shall seek them, but shall not find them; shall not be able to enjoy them, or act according to her wishes and desires, with respect to the performance of sacrifices, rites, and ceremonies, as before observed: then shall she say; in her heart, finding all endeavours fruitless, and that the things sought after were never to be had; the hedges and wall,…

The Church Fathers

So, therefore, understand that there were also many lovers of your soul who have been seduced by its splendor with whom it has been a prostitute. It was also said of these, "I will go after my lovers, who give me my wine and my oil." But the soul has now come to that time that it should say, "I will return to my first husband because it was better for me than now." You have returned, therefore, to your first husband. You have doubtless displeased your lovers with whom you used to commit adultery. Unless, therefore, you now remain with your husband in total faith and are joined to him in total love, because of the many evil deeds that you committed, your every movement and look and even your walk is suspected by him, if these should be too careless. He must see nothing further in you that is playful, licentious or prodigal. But when you turn aside your eyes in the slightest from your husband, immediately he necessarily is reminded of your former conduct. Therefore, that you may destroy the former things and he henceforth may be able to have confidence in you, not only must you do nothing immodest, but also you must not even think of such.
— Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON EXODUS 8:4

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Afflictions Made Beneficial · In turning us to God — In turning us to God
Israel, Prophecies Concerning · .Of — .Of
Repentance · 4:29-31;10:16;30:1-3,8-10;32:29; — 4:29-31;10:16;30:1-3,8-10;32:29;

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Hosea 2:7

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hosea 2:6-13

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Hosea 2:6

John Gill on Hosea 2:7

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Hosea 2:7

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hosea 2:6-13

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Hosea 2:6

John Gill on Hosea 2:7

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Hosea 2:7

Keil & Delitzsch on Hosea 2:6-8

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Hosea 2:6-7

Rashi on Hosea 2:7